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La route est longue.

La route est longue.
The road is long.
FromLesson 15inHardcore French

Breakdown of La route est longue.

être
to be
long
long
la route
the road

Questions & Answers about La route est longue.

What is the function of the article La in the sentence La route est longue?
The article La is a definite article similar to "the" in English. It marks route as a noun that is both specific and feminine in gender.
How does the adjective longue agree with the noun route?
In French, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. Since route is feminine singular, the adjective takes its feminine singular form longue (instead of the masculine form long).
What role does the verb est play in the sentence?
Est is the third-person singular form of the verb être (to be). It functions as a linking verb, connecting the subject la route to the adjective longue, which describes the subject.
Why is the adjective longue placed after the noun route?
In French, adjectives that describe inherent characteristics—like length—are typically placed after the noun. Placing longue after route follows the common word order in descriptive sentences.
How does this sentence illustrate basic French sentence structure?
The sentence follows a simple subject + linking verb + adjective pattern. Here, la route is the subject, est is the linking verb (from être), and longue serves as the predicate adjective. This structure reinforces the importance of matching articles and adjectives to the gender and number of the noun they modify.
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“How does grammatical gender work in French?”
Every French noun is either masculine or feminine, and this affects the articles and adjectives used with it. "Le" is used with masculine nouns and "la" with feminine ones. Adjectives also change form to match — for example, "petit" (masc.) becomes "petite" (fem.).

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